Appraisal of Personal Records in Archival Profession and in Historiography

Abstract

This paper deals with the private archival material created/owned by a natural person, not a private legal entity. We attempted to ponder the problem of appraising private archives within archival practice from several angles, but also the one of appraising private records in historiography. We analysed mutual relationship between archival and historiographic appraisal of private archives and their influences in that process (both positive and negative ones) from the point of view of both areas. Mutual correlation in the appraisal process is presented through an example of a thematic archival exhibition. This exhibition is about an important international historic event, Rebellion of the Austro-Hungarian sailors on board warships based in Boka Kotorska Bay (presently the territory of Montenegro) that happened 100 years ago, at the very end of the World War I. The exhibited documents were selected from among the corpus of private archives and collections. We believe that an archival and museum exhibition of this kind, organized in Kotor Historical Archives, can be the best way to drew attention of scientists and general public on the importance of identifying, collecting, keeping and consulting (using) private archival records.